RAAF and Army firefighters’ basic training
While red fireballs erupting above RAAF Base Amberley may be enough to make passing motorists take a second look, the dramatic scenes were all part of fire-fighter training at the Royal Australian Air Force Security and Fire School (RAAFSFS), where RAAF firefighters and Australian Army combat-rescue operators were preparing for the emergencies they may one day face protecting aircraft, facilities and personnel.
CAPTION: Students attending the Australian Defence Force Fire Fighter Basic Course fight a blaze on a simulated jet fighter at RAAF Base Amberley. Story by Flight Lieutenant Natasha Silver. Photo by Corporal Brett Sherriff.
Following a major refurbishment, the RAAFSFS’ live-fire training ground has reopened with enhanced facilities.
Across three separate training pads, instructors can recreate a broader range of realistic emergencies, from aircraft wheel and engine fires to fuel spills and structural blazes.
Course Director Flight Sergent Neil Gill said exposing trainees to real fire was critical to developing firefighters who could perform under pressure.
“When a graduate is faced with an actual fire, it’s important that they can fall back on their training,” he said.
“Using actual fire during training gives our trainees confidence because they actually understand how to use the equipment and techniques to suppress fires.”
Initial employment trainees spend 20 weeks learning aviation and structural firefighting, road-crash rescue, hazardous-materials response and emergency-vehicle operations before joining Royal Australian Air Force or Army units across Australia.
But technical skills are only part of the training.
Rather than directing every action, instructors gradually step back, requiring crews to assess changing conditions, communicate effectively and make decisions together in an environment that closely mirrors an operational emergency.
“We walk them through how to fight the fire initially before stepping back and letting them develop the confidence and mindset to use the tactics,” Flight Sergent Gill said.
“Confidence in your teammates and equipment is vastly important to make sure that you can function in an emergency situation.
“That includes good communication between the fire controller and the crew personnel.”
As RAAF’s only firefighting school, RAAFSFS has trained thousands of firefighters since relocating to Amberley, preparing them to respond to emergencies on air bases and in deployed operations.
Every training exercise ends with the flames extinguished, but the real test comes months or years later, when those same firefighters arrive at an aircraft emergency knowing they have already faced the closest thing training can provide.
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